HANNIBAL, Mo. – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is offering a certification course for teachers and coaches to become certified as a Basic Archery Instructor. This certification is necessary to use the Missouri National Archery in the Schools Program (MoNASP) in their curriculum or to assist an afterschool team.

MoNASP is modeled on the National Archery in the Schools Program which began with a simple idea of teaching kids the basics of archery as part of school curriculum. This is a hybrid course, which requires online work ahead of the training. The in-person portion of this training will be held at the following locations, and interested persons are only required to attend one of the two in-person trainings offered:

• Jan 27 at Shelbina Middle School from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Registration for this training is required and can be done at http://short.mdc.mo.gov/4nL. Shelbina Middle School is located at 4154 Hwy 36 in Shelbina.
• March 11 at St. John’s Lutheran School from 8:30 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. Registration for this training is required and can be done at http://short.mdc.mo.gov/4nE. St. John’s Lutheran Middle School is located at 1317 Lyons Street in Hannibal.

MoNASP aims to include children of nearly every background.  Nearly everyone—regardless of age, size, or physical ability—can succeed at archery. Kids love archery, and archery helps kids excel. Statistics show that school archery programs:

• Improve school attendance
• Increase self-esteem
• Increase physical activity
• Relate to subject matter
• Appeal to all students
• Get kids outdoors
• Can become an after-school activity

Educators who are interested in MoNASP can also work to qualify for rebates to repay the cost of purchasing equipment. For more information about MoNASP, go to http://short.mdc.mo.gov/4nR. For any questions about these trainings, please contact Kathi Moore at kathi.moore@mdc.mo.gov.